Fernhill
House welcomes study on dementia and marriage

Friday 10th November, 2017

A new study which shows that being
married and having close friends could help protect against dementia has been
welcomed by Fernhill House whose focus is very much on social
interaction and friendship.

The findings follow an in-depth study
carried out by researchers at Loughborough University, University College
London and universities in the States and Brazil.

Dementia lead at Fernhill House, Paul
Turvey says that while the research doesn’t prove that marriage helps stave off
the illness, having close friends certainly improves everyone’s general
wellbeing.

The study, which began 15 years ago,
involved monitoring thousands of over 60s who didn't have dementia when they
were first questioned. The 6,677 participants were asked about their marital
status and the number of close relationships they had.

Researchers then followed the
participants for an average of six years to see how many developed dementia, with
3.3% of the sample (220 people) either receiving a dementia diagnosis or having
the disease indicated by questionnaires.
They found people who weren't married,
had fewer social relationship or were lonely had a higher risk of developing
dementia.

Other factors included heart and
vascular disease, impaired mobility, and lower educational levels.

Paul echoed comments from the NHS
which explained: “As the causes of some types of dementia – particularly
Alzheimer's disease – remain poorly understood, it's difficult to isolate the
effect of a single factor like marital status.
“It seems more likely that the
quality of the marriage and family and social relationships is likely to be the
important factor, not just the presence of these relationships.

“An unhappy marriage may do little to
benefit your wellbeing, and you don't have to be married to have a happy and
fulfilling relationship.”

The ethos of Fernhill House is for
residents to have happy, fulfilling lives. It has innovative dementia friendly facilities such as an indoor potting
shed, a ‘real’ pub, a shop and 1950s and 60s themed games.
Arts and crafts, holistic
therapies and gardening, events such as tea dances, choir therapy, recitals by
string quartets, celebrity guest speakers, cooking workshops and bubbles and
blinis evenings are regular fixtures on the activities calendar.